4885 
I©4 
more marked than in the contagious lung 
fever. _ 
Further, there is good reason to complain 
of the looseness, carelessness, or ignorance of 
persons claiming to he veterinarians, or other¬ 
wise competent to judge of these things, who 
spread unfounded reports of the most de¬ 
structive diseases appearing here and there, 
aud keep the whole country in a state of ex¬ 
citement. Recently it was stated that rinder¬ 
pest had appeared in New York State, and 
the Legislature, alarmed out of its wits, appro¬ 
priated $5,000 for the purpose of investigat¬ 
ing the disease. Had it passed a la w inflicting 
a year’s imprisonment upon the persons who 
originate and spread such false and alarming 
reports, which do so much injury to us abroad, 
it would have been far better. Any person 
of common sense and knowing anything of 
the diseases of livestock should know that the 
appearance of rinderpest here is utterly im¬ 
probable and practically impossible. 
The same thing applies to foot-and-mouth di¬ 
sease and yet 1 see a Professor here in Kansas 
writes in the paper of which he is editor, "We 
look for a violent outbreak of foot aud-mouth 
disease in Kansas at an early day." . . “We 
shall again be in the midst of an epidemic of 
foot-and-mouth disease.” Surely some one 
ought to sit down upon the author of such 
ignorant, alarming, and injurious statements. 
There never has been a single case of “foot- 
and-mouth" disease in Kansas, and never 
will be until it is brought there by infected 
cattle from England, where it is always more 
or less prevalent, or by contagion by infected 
ships. And these wickedly ignorant state¬ 
ments are copied and circulated abroad and 
get into foreign papers and do infinite mis¬ 
chief. _ 
A few months ago, it was reported that a 
most aiarmiug outbreak of pleuro pnemonia 
hadoccured in Illinois and other Western 
States, brought there from an Ohio herd of 
Jerseys. The sick cows were killed and buried, 
and the professional executioners rejoiced 
that the contagion was stamped out. Now, 
after an examination by an expert veterin¬ 
arian, it is stated that this Ohio herd is per¬ 
fectly free from the disease. Surely some oue 
should bear the blame of these blunders, and 
surely some one should be bold and fearless 
enough to tell the truth about these things. 
When any person is known to be making 
money out of baseless excitement of this sort, 
bis motives are justly open to suspicion. 
In regard to the bnby beef referred to by 
your old and valued friend (page 143), 1 have 
to say that there may be easily a valid differ¬ 
ence of opinion in regard to what is the true 
meaning of “suffleiently matured.” Is that, to 
mean fulluessof weight of carcass or quality 
of meat! There cannot lie, and are not, two 
opinious as to the finer quality for use of four- 
year-old beef over two-year-old. At the Fat 
Stock Show at Chicago, the butchers pro¬ 
tested agaiust the baby carcasses overloaded 
with useless fat, and a strong feeling has 
arisen against this kind of meat. There is 
but little of it anyhow in the market, and it is 
against the fashion rather than the practice 
that 1 protest. It is an imported Euglish 
fashion and is therefore popular with some. 
Your old aud valued friend will have to 
tackle other stockmen besides me in defence 
of his statement that Short-horn cattle can be 
“ripened" in one-half to one-third of the time 
required by other breeds. What have the 
Hereford, Devon and Polled cattle men to say 
to this? It was a two-year-old Hereford that 
took the prize for the best dressed carcass over 
the Short horns at Chicago in 1883. He illus¬ 
trates bis point by the growth of vegetables; 
but very inaptly. It is the slow-growing 
apple which is sound and firm fleshed and 
keeps and brings the highest price in the 
market; aud the slow-growiug tree whose 
timber is the soundest, firmest and most valu¬ 
able. Sixty pouuds dressed is a common 
weight for a Canadian lamb of nine mouths, 
but it is not mutton, and I defy any man to 
grow firm, high flavored mutton in less than 
two years; he may have sweet, soft, flabby 
lamb aud a lot of tallow, but not the delicious 
mutton of a mature sheep. It is a gain, of 
course, to get it at 10 or 11 months; but it is 
not a gain to the comsutuer, who by aud by 
will have something to say about it. 
Uetmnan). 
A PROTEST AGAINST STOCKMAN’S 
NOTES. 
D. E. SALMON, D.V.M. 
Will the Rural allow me to say in regard 
to the remarks of “Stockman” (p. 165 of Ru¬ 
ral for March 14) that its readers may use the 
disinfectant for chicken cholera, which I have * 
recommended with perfect confidence that it 
will do exactly what it is represented to do, 
i. e., it will destroy every germ of the disease 
which it touches and it will accomplish this 
within a few minutes Every one who uses 
this disinfectant intelligently can save his 
fowls, or at least the greater part of the n, 
even after the disease has made its appearance 
indicate, that a little charcoal iu the food, 
combined with pure water aud cleanliness, 
will cure swine cholera, I know that it will 
not. 1 wish to impress upon readers of the 
• Rural the fact, important above all others, 
that these two diseases are caused by germs— 
a peculiar species of germ for each disease. 
These germs multiply in the bodies of sick 
fowls and pigs, and they are produced only in 
fi ls way The disease cannot be produced 
wi hout the presence of the peculiar germ. Iu 
other words, fhe contagion of the disease must 
t 3 brought, on the place before the disease can 
this country. Every case of the most import¬ 
ant of these diseases arises by contagion from 
a pre-existing case, and in no other way. Be 
equally shy of those writers whose cardinal 
principle is embraced in the following words 
of “Stockman:” “Mankind like to be fooled 
and humbugged.” I have often wondered 
how any intelligent man living in this century 
could write some of the rhings which have ap¬ 
peared in his “Notes" in regard to animal dis¬ 
eases. I shall wonder no longer—these words 
of his are a sufficient explanation. 
Washington, D C. 
THE SHANNON APPLE. 
The illustration at Fig. 118 represents one 
of the specimens of the Shannon Apple from 
Arkansas, which carried off the honors for 
the Southern District at the New Orleans Ex¬ 
position. That district includes the territory 
east of the Rocky Mountains and south of the 
40th parallel It was awarded a special pre¬ 
mium, also another prize as the largest and 
handsomest, and again for the best plate of 
any variety iu the district It is indeed a 
most attractive apple. Skin smooth, yellow, 
with a splash of russet around the stem and 
a few indistinct russet dots over the whole. 
The flesh is yellowish-white, juicy, sub-acid 
with a pleasing flavor. It does not seem cer¬ 
tain that this is what Downing describes as 
the Ohio Pippin, placing “Shannon” as a 
synonym. If it is the same variety, then very 
much is due to the soil and climate of Arkan¬ 
sas for these beautiful specimens, which are 
quite unequaled by any others on the Exposi¬ 
tion tables. Great credit is due to Mr. E. F. 
Babcock, of tbe Russellville Nurseries. Little 
Rock, for the exceptionally fine apple display 
of that State. As superintendent in charge, 
he has been careful to collect the very best 
specimens, and just as careful to exclude all 
others. At Fig. 119 is shown a half section of 
the apple. 
--- 
THE HOSKINS PEAR, 
About the middle of September we received 
from Mr. J. T. Macomber, Grand Isle, Vt, a 
box containing several varieties of pears. 
Mr. Macomber writes as follows of their 
origin: “The pear has always been mv fath¬ 
er’s favorite fruit, and he was the pioneer 
pear grower of this section, At first there was 
no other source of obtaining trees except by 
planting seeds of such trees as he could find in 
the neighbors’gardens: though discouraged by 
the doubts of his neighbors, he persevered, 
and finally succeeded in proving that really 
good pears may sometimes be grown. The 
pears I send you are the best of many hun¬ 
dreds of seedlings grown, that have as yet 
borne long enough to show their true charac¬ 
ter." 
Of these pears we have had several en¬ 
graved, one of which, named the Hoskins, 
after our valued contributor, Dr. T. H. Hos¬ 
kins, of Newport, Vermont, we show at Fig. 
120, with cross-section at Fig. 121, page 203. 
This is a seedling of Flemish Beauty, 
and bids fair to supplant its parent in 
sections where that spots and cracks badly. 
The tree is a strong, vigorous grower, more 
pyramidal in growth than its parent, extreme¬ 
ly hardy, and very productive. The fruit is 
of the size of Flemish Beauty, but, as shown, 
it is not so symmetrical in form, and lacks the 
red cheek. It ripens in October and must be 
picked early aud ripened in tbe house to be 
at its best. The quality is fully as good as 
that of its parent, aud it is entirely free from 
spots or scab, which must make it desirable. 
£l)c 
A PIG PEN. 
I noticed in a late Rural a description of 
a shut-off for a pig's trough, which is some¬ 
what different from those I use. Mine are 
made cheaply and are liked well. The illus¬ 
tration at Fig. 122 shows one. The trough is 
Fig. 122. 
made of two planks S and 10 inches wide, 
nailed together, shaped like an eave trough. 
Pieces of plank 24 inches long are nailed on 
the ends. At each end of the trough at 
the center, a piece of 4x4 scantling stands 
forming a stud of the side of the pen. In each 
of these 2)4 feet from the floor, a hole is bored 
with a «<-inch bit. A piece of scantling 4x4 
inches is cut just long enough to fill the space 
between these uprights, and in each end a 
hole is bored with a fg iuch bit. A piece of 
j^'-inch round iron is then driven through the 
uprights into the ends of this horizontal piece, 
The Shannon Apple. From Nature. Fig. 118 
in the flock. The strength of tbe solution is 
not one pound of sulphuric acid to a pailful of 
water, as stated by “Stockman;" for two 
ounces of sulphuric acid to a two gallon pail 
of water are amply sufficient. Of course, it is 
necessary to remove the manure, for other¬ 
wise the fowls will soou scratch below the 
superficial layer that was wet. and will, or 
may, meet with germs there that have not 
appear. Hence guard againt the introduc¬ 
tion of the contagion—no attention to cleanli¬ 
ness and purity of food and drink will save 
your animals or fowls, if this esseutial precau¬ 
tion is neglected. 
One word more: Beware of the opinions of 
those writers who, echoing the exploded theo¬ 
ries of a past generation, still contend that 
such specific diseases as fowl and swine cholera, 
The Shannon Apple. Half Section. From Nature. Fig. 119. 
been destroyed. It is much more difficult, 
if not impossible, to clean a fowl house by or¬ 
dinary methods so thoroughly as to remove 
the germs of this disease. 
I have never said, as “Stockman" seems to 
are produced spontaneously by impure food 
aud drink,or uneleanliness of houses and yards. 
This is a delusive aad false doctrine which is 
mainly responsible for the great prevalence 
and spread of contagious animal diseases iu 
^ , 
.7 . -’ • - ■ 
■--- v-/ v-_ . 
--E4U. w . 
Y?*VVu: v 
V A 
t<o« 4,1 
Bouck’s Potato. From Nature. Fig. 124. 
